A great deal of handling is involved in a stamping process for randomly shaped metal parts. Often the parts are fabricated from presses and must be set aside as work in progress requiring further finishing steps prior to final shipping of the manufactured product. The nature of metal stampings when stacked upon one another is to use up considerable amount of space in a shipping container if they are not carefully inserted within the shipping container. Often the shipping container is bulky especially if the stamped parts are relatively large requiring an operator to stretch beyond the abilities of the human frame. Unfortunately an number of injuries have occurred to those individuals assigned to stacking finished stamped articles in a shipping tote. Not only is there pain and suffering for the individual, but from an economic standpoint to the budget of a company a compensation case is not welcome.
The totes normally used in stacking finished parts are made from metal or in the case of finished goods made from cardboard. The cardboard totes are generally 4 ft cubed. The metal totes currently used in this process are 7 ft long and 3.5 ft wide and 3 ft deep. As can be readily seen from the dimensions of both the disposable and the recyclable totes they are not easy to load without some sort of assist to the operator.
In order to try and develop an assist for the operator the totes have been placed on a permanent rack developed with one end higher than the other. A fork truck would then place the tote on the rack generally set at an angle of 30.degree. to 45.degree.. This would permit the operator of a metal die stamping machine to insert the finished or in progress materials into the tote easily. However, there was a consider amount of handling of these totes by a fork truck operator. Further there is no adjustability in the angle at which the tote is set. It would be advantageous to an operator to be able to adjust this angle as the tote becomes fuller and fuller.
In one example, the flow of materials through a stamping operation would be as follows. Blanks are prepared for the presses and stacked within a bedstead as it is known in the industry or tote. The tote is then carried to the presses and set beside the presses where an operator accesses the materials in the bedstead, now located on a tilt stand, the operator then inserting the blank in the metal press forming the randomly shaped article and then placing that item in an outgoing tote which, depending on the number of processes left to be accomplished on the metal stamping, may be stacked roughly in an open tote or place in a tote or tilt stand. If further processes such as welding for example, are required the tote is then transported to the welding area where the parts are removed for spot welding and are loaded by an operator into the finished box which would be on a tilt stand. The operator is able to access the tote in part, but is not able to adjust the angle at which the tote is set at any time.
Within the prior art there exists U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,711 in which is described a tilt support packing apparatus specifically designed for glass. The apparatus is of generally rectangular form and has a stationary frame and a moveable frame. The moveable frame having a rocking portion with pins therein which engage with holes on the stationary frame when the frame is tilted. The apparatus when tilted is locked in position by an upstanding strut. However, the tilting apparatus is not adjustable in position. The strut must be manually moved into position as stated at column 4, line 45 of the disclosure. There is no mention within the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,711 as to the automatic engagement of the strut 56 when the fork truck operator positions the tilt stand correctly. Affixed portions 59 and 60 are provided which allow for the tilting of the stand by a fork truck as described at column 4, line 13. However, once the tilting apparatus is positioned by the fork truck the operator secures the rack to the frame and manually tilts the frame 11 and the rack 17 rearwardly by raising the front of the frame 11 until the rack 17 rests against the rail 54. This is clearly stated at column 4, line 37 through 47. Then as it continues at line 48 the empty rack is positioned adjacent the fabricating line for manual loading within the convenient reach of the operator for inserting sheets of glass therein. U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,264 is another example of such a tilting apparatus.
It may not be practical to manually lift the tote from a horizontal to a tilted position and would be more advantageous if the fork truck bringing the tote to its stand would be able to tilt the stand for the operator and be able to release the stand for the operator as well. If the operator of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,711 must also tilt the packed tote back to the horizontal it would be both cumbersome and time consuming. There is no mention of it being tilted otherwise in the disclosure.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an improvement to tilt stands such as those found in the prior art wherein a fork truck will tilt the stand to the desired position without the need to dismount from the fork truck or to have an assistant to set the strut and thereby lock the tilt stand in its tilted position.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a tilt stand which is releasable when in its tilted position to a position parallel with the horizontal without an operator's assistance, having a release mechanism built therein which is enabled by the positioning of a fork truck fork against the release mechanism thereby releasing the tilt stand to a horizontal position.
Further and other objects of the invention will become apparent to a man skilled in the art when considering the following summary of the invention and the more detailed description of the preferred embodiments illustrated herein.